There appears to be hope in sight for the abandoned Federal Secretariat complex in Ikoyi, Lagos, after the visit of the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, last week, Daily Trust reports.
Like a ghost town amid surrounding opulence in Ikoyi, the heart of elegance and luxury, Lagos, the architectural masterpiece lies in ruins, 33 years on.
The 12-storey Federal Secretariat complex, in Ikoyi, was built in 1976, but abandoned since December 1991 when the federal capital was moved from Lagos to Abuja. The monument, now wasting away, served as the engine room of the Federal Civil Service.
With its major components, such as doors, windows and other fittings in disarray, the complex has turned a jungle of sorts with its attendant security concerns to the residents of the area.
It was reported that apart from the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), which temporarily occupied one of its wings, the structure has been lying fallow since 1991.
However, in 2006, when Dr Olusegun Mimiko, then minister of Works and Housing under President Olusegun Obasanjo, concessioned the edifice to Resort International Limited (RIL), a private firm owned by Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), for N7.2 billion.
Babalakin's idea was to convert the entire complex into a high-rise housing complex and hope was on the rise that about 480 housing units might soon be added to bridge the housing deficit in Lagos.
But the Lagos State Government opposed the idea of converting it into a residential area as against the "original plan." Lagos obtained a court injunction barring anyone from doing anything with the complex, and this has stagnated the development of the structure.
A glimmer of hope
On Wednesday, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, visited the monument, raising a glimmer of hope.
Dangiwa and officials of the ministry were in Lagos on a four-day visit to inspect some of the federal government's buildings under the ministry within the former nation's capital.
Speaking with newsmen, Dangiwa expressed worry that some of the buildings have been abandoned, thereby causing security challenges to Lagos State.
He particularly lamented that the Lagos Field headquarters, housing over 40 agencies of the federal government lacks water and electricity, while the sanitary facilities have collapsed.
Speaking at the abandoned complex, Dangiwa said: "We will talk to the Lagos State government and Dr Wale Babalakin (chairman of Resort International Limited) in the public interest. I believe the building (former Federal Secretariat) should revert to the federal government though we can buy him out from the concession."
Proposed tripartite committee
The minister and his entourage had earlier met with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the State House, Marina.
He told newsmen that during the meeting, an agreement was reached to form a tripartite committee on the collaboration between the federal and state government.
Dangiwa also explained that the committee will look into how to resolve amicably some of the burning issues between the parties.
One of the issues to be resolved is the stalemate over the rotting federal secretariat complex.
"We have now agreed to set up a tripartite committee to work together and resolve all the issues of concern between the federal and state governments amicably for the benefit of all. Otherwise, some third parties are reaping that bad relationship between us and also gaining from that," he said.
Expert seeks proper legal framework
A real estate player, Dr MKO Balogun, told Daily Trust that the conflict on the Federal Secretariat complex is similar to the crises surrounding the 1004 estate MM2, and Lagos-Ibadan expressway projects, blaming it on the lack of proper legal framework on concessions that have state impacts.
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"It is not about political will; it is about a legal framework for a project of that magnitude. A project that involves other parties apart from the federal government. So, all the projects that have such problems have the federal hand in it. 1004, MM2, Lagos-Ibadan expressway are in the same components. And that's one of the challenges for PPP in Nigeria," he said.
Balogun, who is the Group CEO of GPFI Group, pointed out that the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), state and federal governments have the responsibility to break the barriers by coming up with a proper legal framework that "does not allow the concessionaires to tie their money into projects" that won't see the light of the day.
